MOSTLY, CLAIRE, who may have been the only good thing about Meet Joe Black, has hovered in the politesse of Earl Grey, with the grace of a Vermeer and the suggestiveness of a Jane Austen character slowly slipping off a glove. Often when she speaks, the influence of her British mum sneaks out in the use of words like decorum and stodgy. What surprises, then, is the appearance of the actress's unpredictable Mediterranean side, her Italian father's side--the side we see in Boys and Girls, which is in theaters now. Her laugh turns hearty, her hair begs a little tousling, and decorum is left behind. It was in one of these moments that she accepted a role in the recently released Into My Heart:

I was like, No way would I play an adulteress, I abhor that- I think it's immoral. And then a year later I'm like, Wait, I really want to do that. I am an unpredictable journey.